Arsenal to punish Prem rival’s misery with crafty raid for massive Smith Rowe upgrade

Arsenal are considering the idea of replacing Emile Smith Rowe with Nottingham Forest attacking midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, according to a report.

Smith Rowe has fallen down the pecking order at Arsenal over the past couple of years and the academy product’s time at the Emirates Stadium may be coming to an end soon. If it is time for him to move on, the Gunners could look to replenish the ranks with more quality.

In that regard, they have identified Gibbs-White as a potential target, according to the Daily Star, which claims Smith Rowe ‘is facing an exit’ from the club.

It comes after Gibbs-White’s current club, Nottingham Forest, received a points deduction for breaching profit and sustainability rules, which may lead to uncertainty about some of their more lucrative assets.

Since signing from Wolves in 2022 after a spell on loan away from Molineux at Sheffield United, Gibbs-White has stood out as one of Forest’s better performers.

The number 10 has scored nine goals and added 13 assists from his 71 appearances for Forest so far. For comparison, he already has more than five times the amount of goal contributions he got for Wolves, where he made 17 more appearances.

Ever since Forest’s points deduction was announced, there has been speculation about Gibbs-White’s future – and London seems to be calling.

For example, the 24-year-old has also recently been linked with West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur, in a report that claimed he would cost £50m.

Forest have Gibbs-White under contract for another three years, but may face pressure to sell him due to the scrutiny on their finances.

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Furthermore, they are currently in danger of relegation back to the Championship, two years after they came up. At the time of the March international break, and after their points deduction, they are 18th in the Premier League, one point away from Luton Town in the nearest position of safety.

Clubs could be looking to capitalise if Forest do go down by buying some of their better players like Gibbs-White.

Would Gibbs-White get gametime at Arsenal?

On an individual level, the question he would have to ask himself is whether or not he would get as much gametime at Arsenal as he is doing with Forest.

He has played 33 times this season for his current club, even captaining them in several of those games. Most often, he plays in the attacking midfield role that Martin Odegaard occupies at Arsenal.

However, Gibbs-White is a versatile player who has also earned appearances on the right wing, or occasionally on the left and even up front.

Therefore, in theory, he wouldn’t be restricted to just competing with captain Odegaard for gametime at Arsenal, although that would still be his primary obstacle to regular starts.

A move to Arsenal would also allow Gibbs-White to reunite with Bukayo Saka, who he used to play with for England at under-19 level, as well as former under-21 colleague Reiss Nelson (if he stays).

Back in October, Gibbs-White even enthused that Saka was one of the best players in the world, stating: “Bukayo for me is at the minute one of the best players in the world. I just think with Bukayo, he doesn’t go out of his comfort zone, he knows what he’s good at.

“He’s mastered it and it works every time, cut inside on your left, boom, goal, he must practice it every single day in training.”

Gibbs-White could see for himself if Arsenal are able to sign him, but only time will tell if they make an offer that Forest deem acceptable.

Gibbs-White was Forest’s record signing at the time of his arrival and if they can get the fee they are after, may rival Brennan Johnson for becoming their most expensive export when the time comes to sell him.

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